Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what account it has taken of any representations received from the National Farmers Union Scotland on the impact of any revised proposals drafted by the EU Commission for the protection of animals during transport.

Ross Finnie: The Executive is still awaiting the Commission's proposed amendments to EC Directive 91/625 on the welfare of animals during transport. The proposals are unlikely to be published until some time in May and the National Farmers Union of Scotland will be consulted then.

Apprenticeships

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to fund managing agents on an equal basis in respect of all students entering modern apprenticeships, regardless of their age.

Iain Gray: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Apprenticeships

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to fund modern apprenticeships to the same level that they are funded in England.

Iain Gray: The level of funding contributions for modern apprenticeships is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The Scottish Executive recently allocated an additional £25 million over three years to the enterprise networks for modern apprenticeships and other work-based learning.

Child Care

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to give every child access to affordable child care.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive Childcare Strategy aims to provide affordable, accessible, good quality child care for children aged 0 to 14 in all neighbourhoods. Responsibility for addressing local child care needs rests with the local authorities in conjunction with Childcare Partnerships.

  The Executive is providing £16.75 million in the current financial year (2002-03) to local authorities to meet the aims of the strategy. In the Scottish Budget 2003-06 the Executive announced significant increases in Childcare Strategy funding. The allocations for the period are shown in the following table.

  


Financial Year 
  

£ Million 
  



2003-04 
  

19.25 
  



2004-05 
  

29.75 
  



2005-06 
  

40.65 
  



  The Executive has also made available £20 million Social Justice funding in years 2004-05 and 2005-06 for child care. This is to help parents in the most disadvantaged areas get into education or employment.

Community Care

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it monitors staff training in nursing and residential homes.

Mr Frank McAveety: The Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 removed the distinction between residential care homes and nursing homes and all such services are now known as care homes. Under the act, regulation of these services is the responsibility of the Care Commission, taking account of the appropriate national care standards for care homes, which are developed and published by Scottish ministers, and the associated legislation. The standards for care homes all include a standard on staffing, which states that staff will have the knowledge and skills needed to provide care. The standards also detail the level of training which care staff need to have and the date by which this must be achieved.

Education

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide increased and ring-fenced funding to schools for their technical departments.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive currently has no such plans.

Education

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable is for the second stage of the review of initial teacher education and who will be commissioned to carry it out.

Nicol Stephen: An appropriate remit, which addresses all the key issues, is currently being developed for the review. This development work includes a scoping review conducted by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education, which was announced by the Minister for Education and Young People in October 2002. This scoping review work will be completed and presented to ministers following 1 May 2003. Thereafter, the 2nd stage of the review is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2003.

  The process by which the review will be conducted, including by whom, is yet to be decided and will depend on the outcome of the scoping work.

Education

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33067 on 21 January 2003, what it estimates the likely percentage change will be in school rolls by 2011 in (a) the South Lanarkshire Council area, (b) East Kilbride and (c) Hamilton.

Nicol Stephen: Projections of pupil rolls cannot be disaggregated below education authority level. Overall, mainstream school rolls in South Lanarkshire are projected to fall by 16% by 2011.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any representatives from the fish processing sector on the Seafish Industry Authority and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Ross Finnie: The processing sector is currently represented on the board of the Sea Fish Industry Authority by Mr Iain MacSween and Mr Jeff Evans.

  The eight industry members of the board are appointed to represent interests across the sea fish industry, striking a careful balance of geographical and sectoral representation. Mr Danny Couper of the Scottish Fish Merchants Federation was appointed for a three-year term on 1 April 2000, but resigned on 21 May 2001. Fisheries Ministers appointed Mr MacSween as his replacement.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it will provide to the fish processing sector.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive will fund 95% of the cost of hardship relief awarded by local authorities for those fish processors with a rateable value not exceeding £50,000, affected by the reductions in whitefish catches. The enhanced contribution will be available from 1 April 2003 for a six-month period. Local authorities can still grant hardship relief to applicants who fall outwith this criteria under the normal terms where the Scottish Executive funds 75% of the cost.

  Nearly £30 million has been made available over the seven years of the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance programme to assist processors in Scotland. Aid under this programme will continue to be available.

  The Executive is also considering proposals for an extension to the Fish Processors Action Plan.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cattle herds in former foot-and-mouth disease-infected areas have been re-stocked since the lifting of foot-and-mouth disease restrictions; how many herds have been tested for bovine tuberculosis; how many cattle have been confirmed positive, and in how many herds the source of infection was bought cattle.

Ross Finnie: In the Scottish Borders area all 21 cattle herds depopulated as a result of foot-and-mouth disease have been restocked. All have been tested for bovine tuberculosis and none have tested positive.

  In Dumfries and Galloway, of the 523 cattle herds depopulated almost all have been restocked. All restocked herds have been tested for bovine tuberculosis. Only four cattle have tested positive and in none of these cases has infection been confirmed on the farms of origin of the bought in cattle.

Pre-School Education

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) three- and (b) four-year-olds in the (i) City of Edinburgh and (ii) East Lothian council area are in pre-school education.

Cathy Jamieson: The pre-school education participation percentages for 2001-02 were published in August last year. The figures for Edinburgh and East Lothian are shown in the following table:

  


Authority 
  

3-Year-Olds 
  

4-Year-Olds 
  



Edinburgh 
  

80% 
  

93% 
  



East Lothian 
  

82% 
  

98%

Roads

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to ensure that the private developer that installed traffic lights on the A96 trunk road at Bath Terrace, Nairn, fulfils the undertaking given in the letter of 20 May 2002 from the Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning to David Stewart MP to contact my constituents Roddy and Janice McLeod.

Lewis Macdonald: Scottish Executive officials have arranged for a director of the private development company to meet with Mr and Mrs McLeod on 13 March 2003. A representative of BEAR Scotland Ltd will also attend the meeting.

Roads

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on road building in the North Ayrshire local authority area in (a) 1996-97, (b) 1997-98, (c) 1998-99, (d) 1999-2000, (e) 2000-01 and (f) 2001-02.

Lewis Macdonald: Records of trunk road expenditure are not broken down by local authority area.

  For local roads, the information requested is given in tables number 11.1 and 11.5 of Scottish Transport Statistics No. 21, a copy of which is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 23316).

  Table 11.1 shows expenditure for all authorities year by year. Table 11.5 breaks the most recent year down by authority. A breakdown by authority for previous years is given in earlier editions of the publication (Bib. numbers 26533, 16385, 8690 and 15770).

  Figures are not yet available for the year to March 2002.

Rural Development

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to appoint an official to promote equine matters within the rural economy.

Ross Finnie: The equine industry can play an important role in improving the rural economy. The Scottish Executive is working with VisitScotland and the Enterprise Networks to support the development of the rural economy. These activities cannot realistically be the responsibility of one official. It is important that all departments and public bodies understand the potential role of the equine industry.

Rural Development

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to appoint a dedicated team within its Environment and Rural Affairs Department to promote equine matters within the rural economy.

Ross Finnie: Equine matters are diverse including animal health, tourism and rural enterprise. These issues are dealt with by a number of Scottish Executive departments and we are not convinced that a dedicated team in a single department would improve the consideration of equine matters in Scotland.

Scottish Agricultural College

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations have been made to the Scottish Agricultural College regarding any proposed closure of the Auchincruive site and, if it is to close, what measures will be put in place to safeguard the local community and economic stability of the area.

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will respond to the Scottish Agricultural College board’s proposals for the future of the campus in Auchincruive.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Agricultural College’s (SAC) proposal to withdraw campus-based education and research services from its Auchincruive Campus is part of an option for rationalisation that SAC has sought ministers’ agreement to, on the basis of a report of an options appraisal conducted by consultants Deloitte & Touche.

  I have asked SAC to invite comments on the report from staff and other stakeholders and this has been done. I have also asked SAC for further work on the options appraisal. Ministers will take account of comments and representations that SAC receives and the additional information I have asked for before completing their consideration of the options appraisal report and SAC’s recommendation. This process is likely to take a number of weeks.

  Without prejudice to the outcome of the option appraisal process I understand that SAC has been working with Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire and South Ayrshire Council to find alternative uses for parts of the Auchincruive campus which has exceeded the College's requirements for some time.

Scottish Agricultural College

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to the latest proposals regarding the future of the Scottish Agricultural College's Aberdeen campus at Craibstone and, in particular, whether it plans to allow the proposals to proceed unchallenged.

Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34655 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search ..

Scottish Executive Funding

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-34201 by Peter Peacock on 5 March 2003, when it will make its decision on the request for grant funding from the Association of Scottish Community Councils.

Peter Peacock: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34201 on 5 March 2003. We are waiting for further information from the Association of Scottish Community Councils in relation to its request for further funding. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search..

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive who its and its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies' representatives are on the board of the Paisley Partnership Regeneration Company.

Des McNulty: I have asked Bob Millar, Chief Executive, Communities Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

  The Scottish Executive has no representatives on the board of the Paisley Partnership Regeneration Company (PPRC). The present membership on the board of this company is as follows.

  


Jim Cunningham [acting chair] 
  

Renfrewshire Council 
  



Charlie MacGregor 
  

Renfrewshire Council 
  



Norma Bennie 
  

Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Primary Care NHS Trust 
  



Gordon McGuinness 
  

Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire 
  



  Jim Cunningham has only recently taken over as chair of PPRC following the recent death of the previous Chairperson Cllr Brian Oldrey.

Sport

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures  sportscotland have in place to ensure that Netball Scotland will not suffer financially from having been misgraded to level 3, before being reinstated to level 2 on appeal.

Dr Elaine Murray: Netball Scotland has been treated the same as every other Scottish Governing Body of Sport (SGB) when levels of funding have been determined.  Sportscotland’s prioritisation of sports is only one of many criteria used when funding is decided.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliamentary Publications

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer what plans there are to publish bound volumes of the Official Report for meetings of the Parliament in the first parliamentary year.

Sir David Steel: The archive edition of the Official Report  of meetings of the Parliament, committees and written answers from May 1999 to May 2000 is scheduled to be published on CD-ROM in August this year. The CD-ROM will be available to MSPs, others in the Parliament, partner libraries and the public.